


After Fairytale

by sweetiejelly



Series: Temporarily Friday [2]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-30
Updated: 2011-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-28 12:36:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/307942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetiejelly/pseuds/sweetiejelly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the fairytale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Noah didn’t expect fairytales to hold their sparks after perfect endings. And he was right. That summer hummed along with its heat and mosquitoes, its dramas burnt on both sides.

Somehow his earlier romanticism of the barista status led him to apply for a part-time job at Java. And by some miracle – he certainly didn’t know the first thing about brewing coffee – he got the job. That meant working two different positions – interning at WOAK during the day and serving coffee late into the night – and that meant precious little time left for Luke.

At first Luke was ok with this, proud of Noah even. Then he got hurt when Noah had to cancel their dates time and time again. Noah didn’t know what to do. Interning at WOAK was his dream, but it paid precious little. He wasn’t going to live in Ms. Lucinda Walsh’s cottage and not pay the rent. Sure she was Luke’s grandmother, but Noah wasn’t going to take advantage of that. After all, she had already sliced the price in half at least, he guessed. The space was huge – numerous rooms kind of huge, nothing like his old studio apartment. Not to mention the location of it. This was prime real estate and Noah had been in enough neighborhoods to know that. Not to mention everything here worked. The stovetop never clicked on empty several tries in a row. The shower certainly never trickled like a serpentine finger flicking him with cold. Everything was functional, beautiful, comfortable.

Everything was more than he expected, wanted, needed. But Luke had offered and he couldn’t say no. Now he just had to keep being able to afford the deal he worked out with Ms. Walsh on the side. Luke didn’t need to know the details. Anyway, Noah wanted to prove himself worthy of Luke, of his family.

That, however, was getting harder and harder to do. The last date Noah had to miss ended up in another fight. Java got robbed for the first time in ten years and it just happened to be on the tail end of Noah’s shift. He gave his statements, endless statements it seemed like, until the sky outside faded to black. When he finally made it to the Snyder’s residence, the first thing he saw was Luke and Reg seated close on the bench, looking at something on the laptop. “Are you spearheading this new project?” “Who are your target constituents?” “That PowerPoint is bound to impress, but have you thought about spreading the message via the conduit of UsTube?” Those were among the phrases Noah overheard. He tried to bite down the jealousy like spicy raspberry flushing his face. It was his fault. He didn’t have Reg’s vocabulary or his time. He didn’t know the first thing that differentiated a corporation from an LLC. Not like Reg. But damn it, Luke was _his_ boyfriend, not Reg’s.

“ _Here_ you are,” he finally snapped, tired from the day, the scene, the omnipresence of Reg. Luke just glared at him. “Here you _finally_ are.” The rest of the conversation only went downhill. Doors slammed in faces. And that was that. That was the last time Noah saw Luke. Two days and it was eating him up. He barely got by on his jobs and he barely slept. Luke and sorry were all he could think about. And Reg. That last stopped his fingers from dialing the familiar numbers.

So instead here he was showering, letting the water pelt over him like a giant massage. It was hot and steady. It held him separate in this fog, separate from all the real going on outside, all the hurt. And all the pounding? Someone was pounding hard at the door. Noah’s heart pounded. Could it be? Could it be Luke? Quickly, he dried and dressed.

The face that greeted him, however, sent terror through his veins. It wasn’t the last face he expected to see. He knew the possibility was there. After all he was using his real name, his real ID, staying in one place more than six months at a time. Here he was virtually a sitting duck, just waiting for the Colonel’s arrival. Colonel Winston Mayer, the man he used to call father, was dressed in full army attire and looking none too pleased. He elbowed his way in, not waiting for an invitation, a greeting of any kind.

“Dad,” Noah managed to croak as the man edged his way into the cottage. “What self-degrading thing did you have to do to score a place like _this_?” The sneer of disdain on the Colonel’s face was enough to break Noah’s heart into pieces once again.

“Nothing, sir.” He managed to say, after he swallowed down the cold surprise. “I work two jobs now - at the TV station and the coffeehouse.” The words just slipped out before he had a chance to chain them close. At least he managed not to mention Luke. Not that his silence on the subject helped. Winston found Luke’s photo – the one Noah had stolen – framed and propped up on the table next to the couch. He gripped it like he wanted to snap it in two, and perhaps he did. “Who the hell is this?”

“A friend,” Noah crossed his arms. He wasn’t giving out more information. No, not even the Colonel could pull the truth out of him this time. “ _Boy_ friend?” The Colonel narrowed his eyes. Noah stood his ground, not saying a word. He wasn’t sure anyhow _what_ they were anymore. But silence was not good enough for the Colonel. “Did you hear me, boy? Wipe that pathetic look off your face! Is this deviant your boyfriend or not?”

The sudden fear that crept into his heart as he thought back to how the Colonel had treated Gabe made the lie slide easy on Noah’s lips. “No sir. He’s nobody.” When he heard the gasp at the door, he was too late. Luke had run away, sneakers falling fast on the pavement, further and further away.

Noah’s panic brought a smirk to the Colonel’s lips. “Good,” he said setting the picture face-down on the table. Noah just swallowed down the pain like fractured stars, hot and jagged puncturing the whole way down. “Get out,” he said as calmly as he could, holding onto the door for support.

The Colonel sat down on the sofa instead. “I’ll have some tea.” He stretched out his legs like he didn’t hear a word of what Noah had said. Noah stared in disbelief. Luke had just left, ran really, from his life. He didn’t have anything more to lose. “Dad, I ran away from the base years ago. And I don’t want you in my ‘base,’ my home now. So please leave. Before I call the cops and have them escort you out.”

“Escort, huh?” Winston’s eyes were hard. “Don’t think I didn’t know what you were up to. Just like your mother! Useless piece of trash…”

“What do you want from me?!” Noah couldn’t hold in the anger anymore, couldn’t help the red spreading at the edge of his eyes. The colonel always knew how to push him.

Winston folded his hands neatly on his laps. “You have a choice. One – you join the army.”

Noah set his jaws. “No.” Every vein in his body popped in firm agreement. _No way in hell._

Winston nodded. “I thought you might say that. Or two – get married.”

“Excuse me?” Noah didn’t know if the Colonel was serious. He couldn’t be. Married? Noah was only twenty.

“You heard me,” Winston considered him. “You’re not a bad looking boy. Once you straighten out your life, you would be a decent catch for a young lady.”

Noah drew in a long breath. “I am not, nor have I _ever_ been, interested in a young _lady_.” Noah gritted his teeth, thinking about Luke, thinking about what he just lost.

Winston got up then, an imposing figure as he advanced on Noah. The tweak on ear was hard and merciless. “Now you listen to me and you listen well. I will not have my son be a deviant of the lowest class. You will shape up, man up, if I have anything to say about it!”

“You don’t!” Noah twisted out of Winston’s grasp. “You don’t! Don’t you get it? I’m of legal age. I don’t belong to you anymore. I belong to myself. And I’m gay! And I’m in love with Luke! And I don’t want to get married to some girl. And I don’t want to join the army! Ever! Just get out!” Blindly, he fumbled for his phone. But the Colonel was faster, stronger. Three punches and Noah was out, unconscious.


	2. Chapter 2

When Noah didn’t show up for his shift at Java, Reg caught wind of it. “How strange,” he remarked casually to Luke as he handed him a cup from Java. “He didn’t even call in sick.” Luke said nothing, frown centered on his face as he contemplated his cup of mocha. It was indeed strange. Noah was nothing if not devoted to his jobs. In fact, it was the source of many of their arguments of late.

Luke told himself he didn’t care _why_ Noah didn’t show up. But when he got in the car to drive, it was only to end up at the cottage. He idled for a moment, debating whether to face Noah again and so soon.

Earlier today Noah had dismissed him as nothing. Luke didn’t get a good look at the man Noah was talking to. He didn’t even mean to eavesdrop. He had only come by to apologize because he had finally found out about the robbery at Java. He wanted to just shake Noah for not telling him that was the reason for his delay in the first place. So there he was, about to knock on the door when he heard voices from the cottage. And then the cold water over him as he heard Noah deny that they were boyfriends, call him a nobody.

Luke shook his head. Sometimes he really didn’t know who Noah was. When they were together, spending a quiet moment, he felt like the most important person in the world, the most loved. Just the way Noah looked at him was enough to tell him that was the truth. Then there was the way Noah hugged him and the way he kissed him. Luke always looked forward to their little fragments of time together because they fit so well, like they belonged nowhere else. But then they have these misunderstandings and missed dates and now this. Luke had no idea what to do with this. He just knew didn’t want to run anymore. He was too mad to run. That decided he slammed out of his car, knuckles ready to knock. As he got closer, he saw it – the note taped onto the door and curled at the corner. The cursive was a near scribble, like the writer was in a hurry.

“ _Luke_ ,” it said. “ _I’m sorry. We are just not working out. I am going back home. Perhaps a change of scenery will be good for me. Please tell my landlord I have this month’s rent on the table. Goodbye, Noah._ ”

Luke stared at the sheet of paper, heat slapped on his cheeks. Nothing about this was right. Why wouldn’t Noah mention Lucinda by name? My landlord. God, that didn’t sound like Noah at all. Going back home? Noah was always running away from home. Why would he go back home? Goodbye? Noah had taken to signing all his notes “Love, Noah.” Luke had teased him about being able to write it but not say it. But he always wrote it. Like this last one. Luke pulled it out. _Luke, I’m sorry I can’t make it to the movies today. Jeff got pneumonia and asked me to cover his shift. Rain check? And free brownies your next trip to Java. Love, Noah._ He took a deep breath. Perhaps things were worse between them than he thought.

Luke fumbled with the key to the cottage, opening it at last. Everything looked the same. It was like Noah had just stepped out to work or around to the shop at the corner. Then Luke saw it – the check on the table, tucked underneath his picture. No, no. Noah wouldn’t leave without his picture. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t, right?

Taking another look at the notes, Luke compared the handwriting. Immediately the angled _t_ stood out to him. The angle was all wrong. The letter ‘i’ was also dotted wrong. “Oh my God.” Sudden realization dawned on him. That man Noah was talking to, that man in uniform. That had to be the infamous Colonel. Luke barely breathed as he dialed 9-1-1.

\--

When Noah came to, he realized he had been kidnapped. It was just like the Colonel to be stubborn to the extreme. This was where Noah’s own stubbornness came from, he knew. Sometimes he got deathly afraid he would end up just like him, using force to get his way. He sure wanted to punch Reg out a time or two. But the important thing was that he didn’t. At least he kept telling himself that.

Blinking his eyes, he adjusted to the dark of the room. The sway told him they were no longer on land. By the size of the room, he would say they were on sea, on a sailboat. The rolling of it made him sick. He tried to get up, only to get pressed back into bed by a pair of gentle hands. “Lie down. I’ll get you some water,” she said.

“Um, thanks.” Noah squinted, making out the wrap of headdress on the young woman. “Where am I?”

But she didn’t reply, just unscrewed the top of a water bottle and handed it to him. “Here, you’re dehydrated.”

Noah didn’t bother disputing what she said. His throat felt like an endless desert alright. He downed half the bottle in a gulp. “Who are you?” He tried again.

“Colonel Mayer wants us to get married,” she said, looking away. “Believe me, I wish there were another way.”

“ _What_?” Panic rose in Noah and he felt like throwing up. He should have known his father was up to something. “Another way to _what_?”

The girl looked around, making sure there was no motion at the door. “My name is Ameera Ali Aziz,” she whispered, nervously licking at her lips. “I’m from Iraq and I can’t go back. I need a way to stay in the country. And Colonel Mayer said he would help me. Believe me, I didn’t know he meant by getting me married.”

Noah regarded her, the darting of her eyes around the room. She was as nervous as he was. That made him feel slightly better. “He can’t get us married if neither of us wants to marry each other,” he tried to reason with her. “Listen, I know a very powerful woman in Oakdale. Ms. Lucinda Walsh. She will be able to help you. Please, just follow my lead. I’ll get us out of this mess.”

Ameera just nodded, casting her eyes on him nervously. “We’re headed to New York. That’s all he would tell me,” she whispered, eyes large, rounded brown. They reminded him of Luke’s doe eyes and he stared a moment longer than normally polite.

That was how the Colonel found them as he stepped into the cabin. His smile was unmistakable even there in the dark. “Well, well, well,” he muttered with satisfaction. And all Noah could think was _no, no, no_!


	3. Chapter 3

Margo inspected the two notes. The lettering didn’t look all _that_ different to her. The panic and the expectant look on Luke’s face, however, spurred her to reassure. “Thank you for coming to us, Luke. We will look into this, ok? I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything.” She patted his shoulder.

The pat, however, felt empty to Luke, as was the slow pace of her feet as she walked away with the evidence bag. Luke turned out of the police station and made a decision. With a quick press of fingers, he was connected to the one woman he knew would help him out. “Grandmother?”

\--

Noah looked from the Colonel to Ameera, seeing the panic on her face and the pleasure on his. “Dad,” he hedged, using the nicest voice he could muster. “Who is this?”

“Isn’t she a lovely young lady?” The Colonel all but beamed, trailing his eyes down the contours of Ameera until she looked away in embarrassment, until Noah was embarrassed for both of them.

“I’m- I’m sure she is.” He ventured a look at her, catching her eyes. _Trust me, please._ he pleaded. She swallowed, frowning and considering. “Sir? Where are we headed?”

When Noah’s question brought no answer, Ameera tried. “Colonel Mayer,” she smiled, turning on the faintest of blush. “Are we close? To our destination?”

“Almost there, my dear,” he patted her shoulder and she smiled back at him, a little too bright, a little too much dimples. Noah stared at them, thoughts turning already to Luke.

\--

“Darling, calm down! What’s this? Noah _left_?” Lucinda considered the distraught state of her grandson, her hands planted firm on his shoulders. “Just like that?” She snapped her fingers, mimicking flight. “He-he didn’t…say goodbye? Just _left_?” She tilted her head to stare into Luke’s eyes.

“Yes! It makes no sense!” Luke frowned then clutched to his last hope. “Please, grandmother, you can help me track him down, right?”

“Well…well, I can certainly _try_. Do you have any idea where he was headed?” When Luke chewed on his lips and shook his head, Lucinda’s eyes widened momentarily. Then her practical side stepped in. “Have you tried his cell? Is he- is he not answering?”

Luke shook his head again, feeling nauseous. “I’ll try again,” he pressed his speed dial and waited. In the meantime, Lucinda walked around the cottage, taking note of the clean state of affairs. It was Noah alright, the responsible Noah she knew. The one who sought her out and insisted on paying her more than a nominal amount for rent. The one who always addressed her politely as Ms. Walsh. The one who loved her grandson and wanted to prove himself worthy of him. That Noah she knew never would have just taken off like this.

“Voicemail,” Luke’s voice broke, shaking as he closed his cell and crossed his arms in frustration.

Lucinda regarded him. “Were you- were you two fighting?” One of her eyebrows rose and she admonished, “And don’t lie to me. Were you?”

Luke sighed. He could never lie to his grandmother. She would have seen right through the lie anyway. “Yes, but - but we always made up afterwards.” He looked away as he thought about the numerous ways they have made up, pressed up tight right here in this cottage.

“So you were fighting. _Maybe_ that’s why he’s not picking up?” She flipped open her cell. When the call went to voicemail as well, she sighed. This was not at all the Noah she knew. He wouldn’t avoid _her_ calls as well. “Noah, darling. It’s Lucinda. Give me a call when you get this. We’re just worried _sick_ about you.”

When she clicked off, Luke was at the table, frowning down at the check. Six hundred bucks? What the hell? He was pretty sure they had agreed Noah could stay in the cottage for the same rent as his studio apartment, which was nowhere near six hundred bucks. “Grandmother?”

\--

Ameera bore a smile like honey. She might have even batted her lashes. All Noah knew was that she asked the Colonel something and then just like that his father agreed and stepped out of the cabin.

As soon as he was out, she turned, fumbling in the folds of her pant pocket. When she surfaced with a phone, she lifted a finger to shush him. “Don’t dial,” she whispered low. “He has great hearing. Text. Quickly! Before he comes back.”

Noah didn’t need to be told twice. His fingers flew over the buttons, pressing, praying.

\--

“But _six_ hundred?” Luke stared at his grandmother incredulously. She waved him off. “He _wanted_ to pay some semblance of real rent. Look,” she gripped his arms. “You know as well as I do that your boyfriend has his pride. He didn’t want you to know about our arrangement.”

“He’s…he’s an idiot!” Luke wanted to tear his hair out. He worked at WOAK last summer. He knew the salary was minimal. Now all those extra shifts at Java made sense. At once, Luke wanted to laugh, wanted to cry. Damn Noah and his pride! Luke was literally shaking and barely registered the vibration of his cell.

It was Lucinda who noticed the blinking light. “Calm down, darling, and answer your phone for God’s sake!”

Luke started at that, punching in a few keys. “It’s a text,” he said as Lucinda stood peering over his shoulders. They both read the short SOS: _Kidnapped. Dad. NY. Help!_

\--

Ameera pocketed her cell just in time. The Colonel was back with two water bottles and a grin. “Well now, can’t have the newlyweds parched, can we?”

Ameera blushed to the root of her hair, looking away. Noah just gritted his teeth. “Not wed yet, dad. We don’t even have rings,” he tried to reason.

But the Colonel produced two from his pocket. “Don’t you worry about a thing. It’s all taken care of.”

Noah set his jaws. “I would still need to say ‘I do.’ What makes you think I would do that?”

The gun clicking too close to Ameera’s head was the answer. The Colonel smirked at Noah’s sharp intake of air. “Like I said, everything’s taken care of. You wouldn’t want this lovely young lady to turn into target practice now, would you?”

All colors washed off Ameera’s face as she gulped, stilled in fear. This was not the Colonel Mayer she knew back in Iraq. This was not the same man at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke stared out the window as the jet lifted into sky. His hands made fists, curling inward. His shoulders arched stiff in half a question mark. And everything came to a blur - the trees, Oakdale, his life. His mind wouldn't settle, wouldn't stop telling him the multiple ways he had failed, might fail, might never… He couldn’t finish that thought.

Noah had told him a little about the Colonel, almost nothing good. Whenever they did talk about him, when Luke pressed gently and Noah swallowed past the stone in his throat, they mostly ended up kissing, almost desperately. Sometimes Luke would start just to take away that look from Noah. Sometimes Noah would start, fisting Luke’s shirt with permanent wrinkles and pushing them past all words, past all doors, past all clothes.

All Luke knew was that the Colonel was bad news. And at this moment he had Noah. And that was the worst news. Luke squeezed his eyes shut and let the cool window roll across his forehead. Next to him, Lucinda pretended to nap.

\--

Noah walked briskly along as the Colonel half dragged Ameera in the pretense of linking arms. To any passerby, they seemed just like a family out for a quick stroll. Perhaps they were just late to the theatre or were on their way to a restaurant reservation. Yeah, that was it. That was why the father was irritated, the son tense and the daughter-in-law worried.

For once Noah wished he were more selfish. He was unchained. If he really wanted to, he could have run. But then that would just make him his father. And there was no way Noah was ever going to be his father, no sir. No, thank you. So he walked briskly, taking note of street names they passed, the names on buildings, the bright lights of lively cafes. Everything seemed so removed, he moved almost as if in a trance. _Think, Noah, think!_ That was all he could think to think.

\--

Luke turned mid-flight. Lucinda was softly snoring now, fatigue washed over her features. He frowned. They had argued about this before the flight. He didn’t want her to risk her health. She was still weak from the chemo. And as much as he wanted her support, the jet was enough, not to mention her contacts at the New York PD. But Lucinda insisted she was fine, she was more than fine. She insisted on coming with. And _darling_ , why were they wasting precious time? So Luke relented. God, he loved his grandmother. Gently, he reached over and pulled up the corner of her shawl.

\--

The Colonel stopped all of the sudden and Noah swept his eyes over the landscape once more, trying to memorize its dusty shape. The neighborhood was shabby. Construction lined the street like fat lined bacon.

“Get in,” the Colonel muttered soft under his breath. And Noah stumbled from dark into darker. The place – wherever they were – was no better than some of the places Noah had crashed when he was out on the street. Only this time he was truly trapped. He looked to Ameera as she looked back, reflecting the same fear. Earlier the Colonel had demanded she hand over her cell, his hearing apparently much better than either of them had guessed. Now they had no line to the outside. Now they just had to pray Luke would come. Or the Colonel would mess up.

“Tomorrow morning, o-seven-hundred we’ll head for the court,” the Colonel was saying as he tied them back to back. “You’ll meet an old friend of mine. He’ll make sure everything looks all _nice_ and _legal_.” The smile he gave them was half crazed and Noah wanted to weep for his loss. He had never liked his father, but he knew somewhere the little boy in him still loved the Colonel, maybe always will. In self defense or from sheer exhaustion, he dropped off to sleep, a lone tear held tight between his lashes.

\--

Luke insisted his grandmother stay in the hotel and rest. She insisted he at least let the pilot accompany him if he was going to go out canvassing the neighborhood at that hour. And that was how Luke ended up turning round and round in the city, staring at everyone just a little too hard, a little too hopeful. “Noah?” The hair and clothes looked the same a few times, but never exact. Those blue eyes were nowhere. And after two hours on tired legs, Luke decided to turn in and try again in the morning. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

\--

Noah woke in cold sweat in the middle of the night. He was still tied up and his arms were sore. It wasn’t the good kind of sore like that time Luke came home with him from Metro and untied his tie and wrapped it around his wrists. It was the kind of sore where he almost wished he could tear his arms from their sockets just to get free. Noah tried to still his breathing, focus on something else.

His eyes eventually rested on the form of the Colonel, legs crossed on a chair in front of him. His chest moved in the dark in the rhythm of sleep. Noah watched a few minutes just to be sure. Then gently nudging back, he woke up Ameera. She turned her head until her scarf tickled his ear. Noah whispered low the only plan he had formulated. O-seven-hundred, he was ready for it now.


	5. Chapter 5

05:00 AM  
Noah felt the steady rise of the back breathing into his. Ameera hadn’t said much about his plan except a soft “k” so soft that he might have imagined it. Noah just hoped she was on board. Everything depended on it. He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

On the other side of the city, Luke was fully awake. Coffee splashed sugary down his throat. This was nothing close to the concoction Noah made him special at Java but it had to do. Today he had a plan, an itinerary all mapped out. He just hoped Noah was still here. NY, the text had said. NY, there he was, watching the dawn yawn in pastel.

 

06:00 AM  
Giant rats were gnawing on his head. Noah woke with a start. But it was no rat at all. The Colonel stood in front of him, dragging a comb through his hair. “Don’t move,” he instructed as he continued combing. Noah remembered when he was too young to hold a comb and the Colonel brushed for him, yanking on strands. Nothing had changed. “A groom has got to look decent,” his father was muttering. Noah looked up, considering the man in front of him. Could he possibly talk sense into his father? “Dad…”

\--

“ _Dad_! Please don’t worry,” Luke cooed into the phone. “We’re fine. We’re rested and we promise to be careful.” A small smile graced his face as he listened to the man on the other side. “I know. I love you too.”

 

6:30 AM  
Noah hung his head as he walked out the door. His plea to his father went unheard.

 

0-Seven-Hundred  
The honking of taxis, splashing of potholes, the waving of a lone flag atop the courthouse – those were the only things that registered with Noah as he hurried along. This time he was half dragged as well, his penalty for asking too much.

\--

Luke linked arms with Lucinda as they stepped out of the taxi. The courthouse was their first stop today. Lucinda had an old friend here, high ranked and kind. Luke sure hoped he would be able to help them. All along the ride, he looked out the windows, playing spot the boyfriend. But Noah’s curly locks were not among the waves of bodies pushing past.

\--

“Smithers my old friend!” The Colonel held out his hand to shake as soon as they were locked into the office. Smithers clasped the Colonel’s arm right back. “Good to see you. Good to see you,” the skinny suit enthused.

Noah just stood close to Ameera, lightly nudging. It was time. She gripped her fingers in fingers and stepped forward. “Excuse me, sir,” Ameera smiled politely, addressing Smithers and avoiding the glare from Winston.

“Ah, the lucky lady,” Smithers bent his long frame down to smile at her. She smiled back tensely, looking back at Noah. He blinked his reassurance, cracked, “No, I’m the lucky lad.” That earned another glare from the Colonel. Smithers, however, failed to get the joke. “You are indeed,” he agreed. “Well, how can I help you, young lady? Besides getting you married, of course?”

Ameera laughed a weak laugh, lips barely separated as she chose her next words carefully. “It’s been a long trip for me, and I really need to use the lady’s room. Can you tell me where it is?”

At this, the Colonel spoke up, “Oh, I can show you, Ameera. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He chuckled nervously as he escorted her out. “Noah, why don’t you accompany us?” Winston paused at the door. Noah smiled, glaring right back. “I’m good, dad. I’ll stay here.” Winston pinned him with another look before turning to Smithers with a laugh. “You’ll have to excuse my son. It's the nerves.”

As soon as the heavy oak door closed, Noah turned to Mr. Smithers in a panic. “Please help me.”

\--

Luke paced the narrow office as Lucinda and her old friend mapped out the strategy. The missing person report can now be filed because it has been 24 hours. And of course the PI friend of his was already on the case. The important thing was that they kept calm. Have they tried contacting Noah? Just that one text? Which number was it from? Has it been traced? The Oakdale PD was on it? Well, the PI can do it too. After ten minutes of this, Luke couldn’t take it anymore. He stepped out in the hall to breathe. It was too bad crystal balls were not real. He could sure use one right about then. With a frustrated grunt, he dragged his fingers through his hair, trying to pull some sense out of the current situation.

When he raised his head, he caught the stare of a man in full military attire. The look in his eyes was sinister. Luke had rarely ever been on the receiving end of a look so unfriendly he would put the word hate to it. But this he was sure was hate. Hate stared at him, trying it seemed to place him.

“Do I know you?” Luke posed the question because what else were you supposed to say to hate?

The man just sneered and turned, staring impatiently again at the door of the lady’s room. Luke rolled his eyes and looked away as well. Hate was apparently not worth his time. Anyway, it seemed like his cell was vibrating. He snatched it open. A call from an unknown number. He hesitated but remembered that the PI had been given his number. Maybe he had hit on something. “Hello? Yes, this is he.”

Ameera breathed a sigh of relief. She had finally gotten the number right. Last night after Noah woke her and told her his idea and Luke’s number, she repeated the ten digits to herself over and over until she fell asleep and dreamt of bombs going off at her feet. She grew new feet each time. She just had to take that as a good sign. “Luke, this is Ameera. You don’t know me but I’m with Noah in New York and you have to help us. His father is trying to marry us and I don’t have time. I’m in the lady’s room right now on a borrowed phone. Please hurry.” She gave him the address.

Then everything happened in slow motion. At least this was how Luke would remember it. From one end of the hall came Noah with a gaunt man and other officers trailing him. At the other end was Lucinda’s friend as he finally stepped out of the office, trailed also by officers. “Stay where you are,” Luke said as he hung up.

“Luke!” Noah’s voice seemed to come from far away. Luke smiled at the sight of his baby alive and well only to turn his head and meet hate’s bullet with his arm. Damn. Not again. Everything faded into dusty smidges. At least his Noah was ok…


	6. Chapter 6

Everything happened so fast that Noah could barely keep up. Mr. Smithers finally agreed to call Oakdale PD at Noah’s insistence. Over speakerphone, Margo confirmed Noah’s story. She even called Lucinda to relay the news. When all the voices settled, addresses and whereabouts addressed, Noah finally connected the dots. Luke was currently in the same exact building, on the same exact floor, probably standing no more than five feet away from the Colonel.

Lucinda must have realized the same. Voices broke out on top of each other. Margo was trying to make sure her Oakdale citizens stay safe and out of police business. Lucinda was giving directions like the best of generals. Noah was plain freaking out, his legs moving out the door, his mind on Luke, just Luke, have to save Luke.

First thing he saw was Luke, gorgeous Luke, speaking on the phone. Then he saw his father, displeased. He saw his father moving, hands on the gun. Then the triangle converged on a single point – Luke – and bled out in profusion. Another shot followed fast and sure. Noah watched as the Colonel fell in slow motion, teeth gritted against thin lips. Those hands relaxed and the gun clattered on the floor.

Noah’s mind went blank after that. He remembered to keep his promise, entrusting Lucinda with Ameera. “She’s with me,” Lucinda declared, fierce eyes like eagles and the police backed away.

Then it was endless waiting with more police statements – he was really coming to hate those – and the endless hours in cool hospital hallways, waiting for news, anything. Can he see Luke now? How about now? Is he-?

Finally Holden and Lily, Noah and Lucinda were all allowed in. Even Damian. Luke was asleep but alive. He had lost a lot of blood. Be quiet, be quiet. Noah tried to quiet his mind but nothing but regret hammered through, loud, resounding. He had almost gotten Luke killed. This was his fault. He should have never texted Luke about New York. He should have never…

The soft tingle on his hand roused him. Two of Luke’s fingers slid soft across his palm. Then those sleepy eyelids opened on him. Luke tried to speak, but no more than a croak of ‘h’ made it out. Noah moved to sweep palms over that face. Words lost out to gestures. He dipped gently, touching lips to cheeks, to lips. The kiss was like their first: soft, moist, careful. Luke made a soft humming sound then fell back to sleep. Noah watched those eyelashes flutter closed, serene this time, and he breathed again, thankful for the first time for the sting of disinfectants.

The second time Noah was roused awake, Luke was running his hands through his hair. No rats this time. It was more like graceful gazelles wading across his scalp. “You’re still here,” Luke was able to say this time. “ _You’re_ still here,” Noah parroted, thankful for small miracles.

Luke just laughed, throat still hoarse, and indicated the tubes stuck into him in a feed. “Kinda have no choice.” Noah frowned then, regrets flooding back. “I’m so sorry, Luke. I-“ He shook his head and looked down at the white hospital sheets. No answers popped up there, nothing forgiving. “I should have never said what I said about you being no one. You’re the opposite of that. And I should have never texted you or gotten you involved. I knew my father was dangerous, especially to men I like. I just- I’m so sorry.”

Luke gripped his chin then, curling a nail tight against his jaw. “Stop, Noah. Stop. It’s _not_ your fault.” He turned the chin until Noah was looking at him. “You know what I was just thinking? I mean,” he tilted his head to his arms where bandages clung tight in a wrap. “It’s definitely no fun getting shot, especially a second time and so soon. But you know what I was thinking?” He rubbed against Noah’s stubbles, the rhythm calming. “At least this time I have you. Last time…” He looked away, unlocking that capsule of memory he had tried to bury. “Last time I felt so alone. I had nightmares about getting molested and then shot. In a loop. Nonstop. Boobs-blood-boobs-blood.” He shuddered. “So I tried to stay awake as much as I could. And I took to fantasizing about a certain mysterious stranger.” He smiled at Noah then, wistful, like he was regarding him through a veil. “Now I don’t have to fantasize at all. You’re here. And unwed!”

Noah bent and captured those lips in a firm kiss, grateful for their words. Only Luke could make him sound so innocent, so good. When he surfaced for air, his forehead heavy against Luke’s, it was to whisper words of tease. “Well, you can still fantasize a little about your mystery man. I heard he’s single…”

Away from the hospital in New York, their laughs faded to something more serious. Luke asked to stay in the cottage with Noah until he healed. And Noah agreed. Ameera was leaving the cottage that day anyway. Lucinda had finally helped her track down some family in Florida. Her testimony against the Colonel was enough to put him behind bars for years. Everything was finally righting themselves. Noah even got his jobs back. And Luke – Luke was healing, strong enough now to walk about on his own.

Only, Noah still had nightmares about dark places and rats and Luke spilled in blood. The first night Luke stayed with him, Noah just held him, grateful for the cadence of chest next to him. But when that cadence changed, he realized Luke was awake too. “What are you thinking about?” Luke nibbled lightly at his neck and he groaned, a little bit regretful that he went to bed half naked. “ _Now_?” He made a strangled sound as Luke’s unharmed hand traced down his chest, walking their way towards warm and warmer, then hot. He couldn’t help arching into that warm palm, couldn’t help the friction rubbing away all thoughts. And when Luke’s lips fell on his, spicy tongue and perfect swirls, he let go, let all bad thoughts fade away.

When he had barely cleaned up, Luke was there again, tongue dipping hot into him, licking till hot became scalding and he was begging. Trails of words left him like crumbs, crumbled under Luke’s care. Then Luke was there, answering in sweet tilts of hips. _I’m here. I’m here._ Noah wrapped his legs tighter, his arms strained, supporting them both. Until there was nothing to support, nothing but limp limbs and sweaty skin.

The first time they did this – Luke moving sweet into him – he had tensed. That was what he did with so many before and always for a price. But Luke wouldn’t let him squeeze his eyes shut. Luke wouldn’t let him drift under that mask. Luke talked to him the whole time. “Look at me, Noah.” And then Luke would kiss him, tongue full of love extended, lips full of care. “You’re so gorgeous.” Words of love were followed by touches of love, each affirming each. “Seeing you open like this, nothing compares.” And when Luke finally pushed in slow, his hands were still touching, one swirled around nipple and one around dick. His lips were still kissing, tongue danced tight against Noah’s. And Noah finally relaxed, gave in fully, eyes open wide on Luke’s. They rocked against each other, move for move, until all gates flushed open, until there were no masks anywhere to be found.

Now too they were unmasked, eyes lazily gazing at eyes. “I love you,” Luke barely whispered, lips soft on Noah’s chest. And Noah swallowed back the ‘same here.’ They were so past same here. “I love you, too.”


	7. Chapter 7

So Noah didn’t expect fairytales to hold their sparks after perfect endings. And he was _almost_ right.

When he came home the next day, the day after his declaration of love, Reg was there, his shadow as irritating as ever. But then there was Luke and that grin. That grin meant something was up. Noah stayed in the doorway stunned as Luke sidled up to him and planted a kiss so slow, so intimate on him that he would have blushed if he wasn’t busy gloating. “What’s that for?” He finally got to ask as Luke peeled himself off with all the speed of a snail.

“Can’t a guy kiss his boyfriend hello?” Luke’s eyes glinted with some agenda. Whatever it was, Noah was onboard. This agenda seemed like a lot of fun. Luke linked their fingers in a tight handhold. “Reg, would you like some more coffee?” Luke was asking, his eyes looking too innocent for a man who had just gotten him all worked up with a single kiss. Reg was trying to look at Luke without looking at Noah but that was impossible given how close they stood, hairs practically mingling. “No, I’m-I’m good. I’ll see you guys around.” Then like his feet were burnt, Reg practically ran out of the cottage.

Noah looked at the retreating figure, usually a welcome sight, and frowned. “What was that?” But Luke was tugging him by the hand, tugging him inside and closing the door. The kiss against the door said even more, from the catches in their breaths to the rustle of their clothes, to the soft slide as Luke caressed Noah’s face with his good hand. Noah thought if a kiss could ever say ‘I adore you’ or ‘I missed you’ or ‘you’re really very cute,’ it was this one. He sank into it gratefully, returning every word.

When Luke’s lips finally moved away in an inhale, Noah stared back in a haze. “I love you,” he repeated the phrase from last night, the one he finally got himself to say, awkward though the word tasted on his tongue. He wasn’t sure if Luke had heard him last night. And this morning he had to leave early for WOAK, had to leave Luke still splayed sleeping in his bed. Luke just grinned, his whole face a sheen of happy. “I heard.”

He paused just enough to smooth his hand down the front of Noah’s shirt. “I heard last night and I wanted to make things right.” Luke explained, expounding on the error of his ways in leading Reg on, hurting Noah. “I love you so much, Noah. When I realized your father had you…” He inhaled an unsteady breath. “I couldn’t think about anything else but the possibility of never seeing you again. And then about how stupid I was that night of the robbery when I last saw you.” Noah rubbed soothing circles on Luke’s hand. _It’s ok. I’m sorry too._

“Move in with me.” Noah registered the surprise on Luke’s face. “It’s going ok so far. And you’ll see more of me,” he explained.

Luke considered the offer for all of two seconds. “Only if you agree to the terms.”

“Terms?” Noah looked stunned even as Luke climbed into his laps.

“Terms,” Luke repeated. “First – and this one is easy – we kiss hello _and_ goodbye.”

“Done,” Noah smiled, relaxing a little, relaxing enough to steal a peck.

“And two – you let me pay half of your current rent to grandmother.” Before Noah could protest, Luke was forging ahead. “I know _you_ asked me to move in. But believe me, I will be _moving_ in. There will be so many boxes your eyes will pop. So I’ll take up half the cottage if not more. And I insist that I pay for my space.”

Noah could only nod at that. It made too much sense. “Ok. Anything else?”

“Yes.” Luke licked his lips and smiled, conjuring up dimples to give him every advantage. “You stop taking extra shifts at Java.”

“But I just missed all of my shifts for the past two weeks,” Noah protested.

Luke sighed. He thought it might come down to this. He got up and moved to the breakfast table to retrieve a box wrapped in bows. “Open it,” he said as he set it down on Noah’s lap. “It’s for you.”

Noah couldn’t think what would weigh this much. When he finally got all of the wrapping pulled off and came face to face with a video camera, he almost dropped it. “Luke, I can’t accept this.”

“I’d be offended if you don’t,” Luke crossed his arms. “It’s a gift. You say ‘thank you.’”

“I don’t…” Noah looked away, not knowing how to say just how overwhelmed he was.

“You told me that was your dream – to make films someday.” Luke sat down again, hand warm on Noah’s cheek. “I want you to get there. If you don’t take the extra shifts at Java, then you’ll have that time to learn. There are night classes at Oakdale U. Here,” Luke retrieved a pamphlet from the side table. “At least think about it?”

Noah closed the distance between them. This time the kiss was a firm ‘thank you.’ He rested his forehead against Luke’s. “You’re too good to me, Luke.”

Luke just smiled, eyes full of light. “Is that a yes?”

Noah smiled back, “Yes. Definitely yes!”

And with that, his fairytale began all over again. Someday Noah vowed, someday he will make a film about the unluckiest army brat who turned into the luckiest rentboy and found his prince. Perhaps Luke can even write the script for it.


End file.
